Indian Railways is one of the world's largest railway networks. It is also world's seventh largest commercial or utility employer. IR is a symbol of socialism in India because it can not be privatized even after running in losses.
However, despite of highly ambitious goals and commitments in the annual budget, the situation of IR remains same and has not changed significantly. Government's efforts and our thinking is moving towards advanced Maglev like technologies,Bullet Trains,well functioning online services and ticketing system, IR is,however,going through various infrastructural bottlenecks.
1) If we want our trains running faster and uninterrupted, we need to have fully electrified lines all over the country. Since there is discrete electrification, replacement of engines takes time.
Though government is committed to electrification across-the-board, the process of electrification is slow because of two important reasons.
- Lack of Funds.
A good amount of fund is required for building locomotives,setting up masts,overhead equipments,contact wires,substations and transformers. Also, training the staff of existing diesel running locomotives will also require enough financial support.
- Inability to build enough locomotives.
According to a railway official,more than half of the world's railway systems run on standard gauge(1435 mm width) , so importing electric locos of broad gauge(1676 mm) in such a large quantity would be tough.
2) The process of laying new tracks is also slow. Trains usually runs late because of single line tracks. We can't imagine unimpeded railway services with single line tracks. This is also one of the reason behind train accidents.
3) Ticketing system is not efficient and transparent enough. BJP-led government has claimed that it has taken measures to ease the process and availability of tickets. Actuality,however, is far different from reclamation. Reality is people are not able to book a tatkal ticket online and getting waiting list in 1 minute after opening time. What is the mystery of agents nobody knows.
It was revealed by media that some software like New China and Rocket are used by these agents. Government,unfortunately, has no idea about this. The point of cyber security infrastructure also arises here. The website of Indian Railways was hacked few weeks ago.
4) Main problem lies with the financial resources. Expenditure is much more than the income. It also has limitations in borrowing. Getting finances from alternative sources is a need. Railways seeks FinMin to raise funds via Masala Bonds. IR has also decided to sell swadeshi goods(Patanjali Products) to raise funds.
It is expected from the respective ministry to look upon the fundamental issues first rather than approaching superficially. Launching mobile apps or singing the free wi-fi song will not help until these issues are not resolved.
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